Method system and apparatus for providing transportation services

ABSTRACT

A system and method for providing taxi patrons with a taxi-reservation system which facilitates better taxi service, better time utilization and financial rewards for taxi drivers who provide better service, and more efficient pricing for buyers. The taxi-reservation system allows patrons to rate the taxi service they receive as well as pre-select taxi drivers from a pool of available taxi drivers. The system further enables taxi drivers to participate in a pricing scheme where customers can bid on proposed fares for their trips, and drivers, dispatchers or companies can bid on customers.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 60/400,603 filed Aug. 2, 2002, which is herein incorporated byreference.

FIELD

The present invention is directed to providing transportation servicesto potential customers, and more particularly to a method, system andapparatus for assisting customers with a real-time taxi reservationsystem that enables a pricing scheme for buyers, while rewarding bettertaxi drivers.

BACKGROUND

While taxis are generally available for short-term availability tocustomers, there are thousands of private cars and limousines that areable to respond only to long term customer scheduling. In other words,it is difficult for these private cars to pick-up potential customerswithout going through a protracted reservation process. These cars workthrough a central telephone-based or Internet-based service thatreceives requests from customers for scheduled transportation. Theseservices then communicate with drivers by cellular phone, beeper orother mobile communication device. A customer often needs to provideseveral hours of advance notice in order to be certain that they will beable to obtain car service.

Similar to other service-industry businesses, the car service businesshas remained unchanged for a long period of time. For example, thecurrent arrangements give little pricing information to customers.

New York itself has over 30,000 car service drivers in addition to11,000 regular cabs. The main problem facing customers is theunpredictable level of service and pricing provided by the differentcompanies and different drivers. As a result, current systems are highlyinefficient.

Furthermore, at present, drivers must suffer lengthy, unpaid waits anddown time. Passengers have trouble getting cars on short notice.Further, there is no really effective way, short of always using thesame driver, of predicting the general quality of the limousine service,in terms of timeliness, quality of car, driver friendliness, and thelike. These problems and others are made even worse by the fact thatsupply and demand for these services is not static, during 7-10 am thereis more demand than supply while during 10 am-4 pm there is more supplythan demand. Then again from 4-8 PM the demand rises sharply only todisappear few hours later. The current pricing system does not allow forany flexibility for such drastic supply and demand characteristics toaffect the actual prices paid by users for the service.

The inefficiencies in the taxi service industry stem primarily from afew reasons. There is currently no effective mechanism to ensure repeatbusiness because taxi patrons generally have little say in the selectionof a specific service provider (i.e. taxi driver). As such, there islittle incentive for taxi drivers to provide better service. Also, theabsence of a mechanism for repeat business prevents the evolution of abusiness relationship, where the service provider would learn how toefficiently satisfy a customer (such as by playing specific radiostations, talking certain routes, etc.). In addition, the supply anddemand for taxi services vary greatly by time of day, location/route,weather, and the lice. Furthermore, most rides are one-way and have veryhigh periods of wasted time due to the lack of centralized coordinationbetween the need for cars and the available cars.

Furthermore, at present there is no access to information that canprovide real-time traffic and routing data to drivers to help anticipatetravel time or to redirect cars in case there is congestion or delaysdue to construction or events.

Furthermore there is no system of collecting satisfaction and ratinginformation about individual cars, drivers and companies which can beaccessible to riders ahead of their selection and reservation so theycould make an informed decision. In addition none of these services areavailable online as part of the airline or hotel reservation systems.

As a result, there is a need for a car or taxi reservation system thathelps address the above-mentioned disadvantages in existing systems.

SUMMARY

In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages in the existing system, thepresent invention provides taxi patrons with a taxi-reservation systemwhich allows better taxi service, better time utilization and financialrewards for taxi drivers who provide better service, and more efficientpricing for buyers. The taxi-reservation system allows patrons to ratethe taxi service they receive as well as pre-select taxi drivers from apool of available taxi drivers. In addition, the system further enablestaxi drivers to participate in a pricing scheme where customers can bidon proposed fares for their trips, or alternatively, taxi drivers canbid on customers.

According to one embodiment, the present invention solves variousproblems associated with the identification, reservation, procurement,dispatch, navigation, location, meeting, pricing, rating and payment forcar services by customers.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the invention involves aunique method operated by a user involving the following sequence:accessing a transportation reservation system via an Internet-enableddevice, the transportation reservation system being in communicationwith a plurality of independent travel service providers; transmitting atravel service request to the transportation reservation system;receiving transportation service information from the transportationreservation system in response to the travel service request;transmitting a travel request confirmation to the transportationreservation system; and receiving transportation service in accordancewith the confirmation.

In another embodiment of the invention, the invention involves a methodof providing transportation services by a reservation service provider,including: receiving notification from a plurality of independent taxidrivers regarding availability for providing transportation; receiving areservation request from a taxi customer; transmitting the reservationrequest to a first taxi driver; receiving confirmation from the firsttaxi driver regarding providing taxi services to the taxi customer inconformance with the reservation request; and transmitting theconfirmation from the first taxi driver to the taxi customer.

These and other embodiments of the present invention will become morereadily apparent upon a review of the following detailed description andaccompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the instant invention will be more readilyappreciated upon a review of the detailed description of the preferredembodiments included below when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary network of a pluralityof taxi customers, taxi drivers and a central controller according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary controller databaseaccessible through the central controller of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary process over the network ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, wherein similar components of the presentinvention are referenced in like manner, various embodiments of amethod, system and apparatus for providing transportation services topotential customers are disclosed.

The disclosed invention utilizes vehicles which are continually intransit, as a result of which their availability changes regularly. Inaddition, traffic conditions are never static, which creates a uniqueenvironment to allow the matching of supply and demand. The presentinvention creates a network that provides real-time traffic reports aswell as the ability to track the average speed of taxis on particularroutes and trip duration information using data available from wirelessand Global Positioning System (GPS) networks. The data is then mapped tothe actual route plans/maps to calculate the speed of transit andpredict car arrival times.

According to the invention, any taxi customer, having a valid account,can hire a cab/taxi by providing a valid identification number. In oneembodiment, the appropriate payment will be deducted from the customer'saccount and posted to the account of the specific driver of the cabproviding the taxi ride. In other embodiments, payment can be provideddirectly to the driver. The system collects the traffic informationtrends and extracts the financial data to predict trends as well asperformance and success of sales campaigns. For example, a decrease inoccupancy rate for taxis, combined with lower ratings from customers,may result in poor financial performance and lower travel/taxi rates.Real-time access to such data gives drivers and companies a head startand allows them better planning of their resources and fares.

The taxi-reservation system provides taxi patrons and taxi driversaccess to a system which allows patrons to rate the service theyreceive, pre-select taxi drivers from a pool of those available, andallows drivers and passengers to participate in reverse auction pricing.As a result, patrons enjoy better service and drivers receive financialrewards for providing that better service. Overall, the entire system isa more efficient scheme for matching supply and demand for taxi and carservice.

The taxi-reservation system comprises an application with two userinterfaces: a driver interface and a customer interface. The driverinterface is accessible by registered taxi drivers and dispatchers whoare equipped with a taxi-reservation system wireless devices (whichincludes GPS and wireless location capabilities) and necessary software.The software allows management of car inventory and availability, allowstaxi drivers and dispatchers to bid for queued passengers and receiverequests for quotes. Such software can operate on wireless devices, aswell as computers connected to the internet or by using phones to callinto an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) reservation system. It may alsointerface to reservation software operated by taxi rental and limocompanies so all such functions can be performed automatically based onreal time matching and rules designed to optimize the service and fleetutilization. The customer interface is accessible by any registered useror wholesale reservation network equipped with the interface protocolwhich is accessible via computer phone or any wireless access device(such as a Palm VII, Blackberry, WAP phone, and the like), which allowsthem to schedule, view and bid for available cars, cabs, and to ratedriver service. The application server may reside anywhere on theInternet, and comprises commercial Relational Database ManagementSystems (RDBMS), middleware and presentation software with customprogramming.

The taxi reservation system provider may receive subscription fees fromcustomers, transaction fees from customers, subscription fees fromdrivers, transaction fees from drivers, and/or platform licensing feesfrom other interested businesses.

Turning now to FIG. 1, there is depicted a taxi-reservation system 100comprising an exemplary network of a plurality of taxi customers 110,taxi drivers 120 and a central controller 130. The taxi drivers 120 areprovided with a computer 125 having a GPS monitor and wirelesscommunications in their automobiles. Data is collected remotelyregarding each car by the central controller 130. Such data can bedispatched and collected via some existing or intermediate software andcommunication systems as described via computer 145. This data is madeaccessible to remote users by a smart and user-friendly manner via anyInternet-network, wireless phone and/or the like 140.

This system allows both consumers 110 and drivers 120 or car servicecompanies to locate the right company, car, driver, price, availabilityand then access historical information collected from other users as tothe satisfaction level, thereby facilitating a real time decision. Suchranking and matching of drivers and passengers can be made based on manyparameters including price, location, length of time required, pickupand delivery flexibility, willingness to share a ride, payment method,amount of gratitude, ranking, car type and other parameters

Matching is done based on three processes, riders 110 request data isplaced in 130 and is submitted to local systems 145 and 125 for matchingand biding, all availability data is submitted by 125 and 145 to 130which then makes immediate decision each time a request comes in from auser 110 or system 130 lists all offers from both sides and allowsmatching to be done by the users. The GPS-enabled devices 125 in thetaxi cabs can automate the process of selection, and extend the tracingof vehicles or drivers by incorporating GPS and cellular tracingtechnologies which allow for automatic rescheduling and notification ofboth customers 110 and drivers 120. In addition, these devices 125pin-point location information which can be forwarded to customers 110via wireless devices as to the exact location for the meeting point andthe contact information for the specific driver 120 can be matched. Inaddition, this system 100 allows the notification of drivers 120 ofchanges in flight, train, and ship arrival and departure informationwhere necessary so that rescheduling can be made immediately upon suchinformation becoming available, as opposed to the common practice ofhaving car drivers sit and wait just to be notified of the delays orcancellation.

The taxi-reservation system 100 provides origin and destination datawhich is submitted by the user 110. This information is then used by thecar companies either in real time or ahead of a reservation. Thisarrangement allows the drivers 120 with the higher customer ratings tocharge more than other drivers or allow drivers with vans or luxury carsto charge more than drivers with older sedans. The system 100 alsoautomatically provides pricing information based on time of day sosupply & demand considerations, traffic congestion, historical pricingdata and special charges may be included as well as all anticipatedtolls and gratuity charges. As a result, this facility allows matchingof the exact type of vehicle and driver 120 to the exact requirement ofthe passenger 110. If the passenger 110 does not mind sharing a ride,the system 100 can combine several requests based on the destination,pickup and time of the reservation to lower the cost to each of thesharing passengers 110. The server stores existing reservations, and maybe enabled to anticipate car availability at certain points in thedriver's travels. A such, the system may be enabled to match cars withpotential customers who are located near the anticipated destination ofthe vehicle. The matching may be performed based on estimated traveltime of the car that is en route, which in turn may be based uponhistorical traffic data, speed-limits, road construction or closureinformation, distance information, calculated travel speed (via GPS, aspeedometer interface, or other means), weather conditions and/or othermeans.

The system may also allow the resale of a reservation to another driveror passenger at a profit or loss because of change in reservation,cancellation or high demand. Also, the system may compare car companies(taxis, livery cars, rental cars, trucks, including the cost of driverswhere applicable) based on charging methods. That is, an estimated routedistance and travel time of the trip requested by the customer may becalculated. Then, the cost of the trip for cars charging based ondistance traveled can be compared with cars charging for travel time.Then, a recommended choice based on the least expensive option may berecommended to the customer.

As a result, customers 110 and drivers 120 can use a central system 130to conduct all of their transactions in an automated dispatch. In oneembodiment, payment is handled by the controller 130 of the system 100so drivers 120 don't have to carry cash or expensive credit cardauthorization equipment with them. By centralizing car availability andscheduling from many car, taxi and rental companies a much higheravailability, utilization and matching of supply and demand is possible.This results in higher revenues for the car companies while providinglower fares to the passengers 110. Drivers simply select their jobs andthen check in electronically to the system each day to confirm theiracceptance of the daily trips and go ahead to drive their cars.

Furthermore, the data of the central controller may be linked to theairline, train, ship, hotel, tourist reservation systems and otherreservation networks by using dynamic Extensible Markup Language (XML)links. As a result, a complete online trip planning identificationscheduling and payment workflow can be enabled. By tracking the locationof the scheduled vehicles, the system 100 can ensure that a specificdriver 120A is on their way to pick up a specific passenger 110A, and ifthe driver is not available or has, for example, a problem with theircar, the controller 130 immediately reassigns another pending driver 120with an assignment to perform the job and reconciles the payment data aswell as the notification of passenger 110.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, thetaxi-reservation system 100 assists drivers 120 with the generation ofadditional income when they travel one-way over a long distance. As isknown, many long distance trips for car service, messenger service aswell as cargo transit, are reserved only one way. However, by providinggeographic information, as well as other pertinent return travelparameters to the taxi-reservation system 100, a driver 120 can indicatetheir availability and pick up a ride that otherwise would not beavailable to them. Once a driver 120 makes their availability known, thecontroller 130 searches its job queue to determine if there are anypossible passengers 110 that desire to make the return trip. If there isany available passenger 110, the controller communicates thisinformation to the driver 120 and a paid ride is scheduled for thedriver's return trip. The driver 120 may preset information in thetransportation reservation system. The preset information may comprisepreferred routes, pick-up and destination locations, preferred fares,preferred times of day, preferred days of the week, etc. The driver 120may perform a query of the databases of the transportation reservationsystem via any available means. In various embodiments, the driver mayuse a touch tone telephone, voice commands, e-mail, an internetconnection, or other means. Reservation requests from customersrequiring trips that have undesirable characteristics to the driver 120,according to the driver's preset information, will be screened out. Thiswill reduce the number of “hits” a driver 120 receives when performing aquery, thereby simplifying the choices that a driver 120 must make. Forexample, if a driver is taking a customer on a one-way trip to Hartford,Conn. from New York City, he may submit a query for only return tripsfrom Hartford to New York City. As mentioned above, an estimated time ofarrival may be determined automatically based on various factors, andthus, a match may be made with a customer desiring to return to New YorkCity at a specific time. Alternatively, if all that can be found is two“half-way trips,” such as a customer desiring to travel from Hartford toGreenwich, Conn., and another customer desiring to travel from Greenwichto New York City, this combination may be used to most efficiently usethe driver's time and fuel and minimize wear on the vehicle.

According to another embodiment, a passenger 110 may be provided with anoption to bid a fare, which the driver 120 may or may not accept.Generally, however, the driver 120 would likely accept any reasonablefare for such a return trip, since the other option would entail drivingback an empty vehicle. Alternatively, drivers, companies, or dispatchersmay bid for customers. For example, at peak times of demand, driverscould command higher prices, and thus have customers bidding for them,during low points of demand, drivers may bid for customers. In eithercase, the driver would most likely be seeking the highest fare possible,while the customer would most-likely be seeking the lowest farepossible. Naturally, if there are other factors that are included, suchas sharing, scheduling or route compromises, vehicle quality orcondition compromises, or other factors, either the driver or thepassenger may decide to seek something other than the highest fare, orlowest fare, respectively.

According to another embodiment, collected historical GPS data can betranslated to traffic patterns and made available to any car that has abuilt-in navigation system or radio and other networks who need accessto real time or historical traffic information. Because most trafficpatterns are repeated in a weekly or monthly patterns, a car or truckdriver may inquire about the traffic conditions between him and adesired destination and send it to controller 130. Controller 130 has acentral database which constantly collects data using the GPS technologyregarding locations of thousands of cars equipped with devices 125 andother devices which provide location information, by mapping such datato other cars that are in a similar path to the destination as thatselected by the driver real time report customized to that specificquery can be generated which indicates the best routs to tale to avoidtraffic jams or delays. This data is collected over various periods andmade available to drivers and other users to assist with charting of aproper and efficient route.

By correlating the speed of advancement and change in GPS data for eachcar, the system 100 knows which routes are congested and which ones arenot, and can instruct the driver to take the vehicle through the leastcongested path. By constantly updating such information and correlatingit to the progress a car is making during a travel, the system 100 canconstantly select and rearrange the travel path. Using such data anaccurate projections of travel times can be provided to passengers wayahead of their trips so they can make correct flight and hotelreservations, by linking such services to the Sabre and other onlinereservation systems an integrated one stop reservation and booking canbe made with a high degree of accuracy.

Access to such a reservation system 100 can be initiated using otherreservation networks, a web browser, wireless devices or telephones, inwhich case the calls are placed to a central IVR system. The system 100may have access to external databases containing reservation andavailability information as well as possible XML links to outsidenetworks to provide other relevant information such as flight timesweather or scheduled arrival and departure of transportation system 100.The interaction with such system 100 can be done by using voicerecognition touch tone web interface or wireless devices.

The controller 130 collects and records information related to the userswho access the system, including their e-mail addresses, calleridentification and wireless device identification, as well as rating andsatisfaction information so that it can be shared anonymously with otherusers of the system 100. Such information is added to the actualperformance of drivers 120 which include on time arrival and otherrelevant parameters.

By providing transportation companies with software that they can use tomanage their reservation and scheduling, the central server 130 hasaccess in real-time to the status of both independent car drivers 120 aswell as the inventory and availability of car service companies. Bycalculating supply and demand trends, car companies can vary the pricethey charge in real-time as well as extend special pricing for goodcustomers 110. The selection can be done automatically by placing limitorders with the system 100 or by individually approving each trip andits price using a hand-held device. The system can also accommodate bulkreservations for hundreds of cars or for private drivers for longperiods of time.

As a result of this setup, the job of the dispatchers is changed to dealwith exceptions and the maximization of revenues for its taxi fleet,because all the reservation flow is done automatically by the system.

According to one embodiment, the selection and matching process involvesaccessing a reservation system by a prospective passenger using acomputer or wireless device or third party linked software andidentifying oneself as an existing or new user. Next, the user selectsthe geography and time of his or her arrival, and indicates his or herflexibility with timing of pickup and arrival (which dramaticallyaffects price and ability to match a request). The user selects thedestination and duration of trip and the number of stops allowed if any.The user may also indicate whether they would prefer to share a ride,which would reduce the cost of the ride. The user may also be able toindicate whether they would be willing to travel a distance to apredetermined pickup location, which would enable more options, and maydecrease the cost of the ride. The user may further select a particulardriver, or the language a driver speaks, the car type, any specialrequirements and/or the like. Finally, the user selects a preferredpayment method.

This information is transmitted to a central server, where the serverthen validates the entered data for coverage, accuracy, logiccorrectness and completeness and/or the like. The server accesses itsinternal database of available cars and drivers and sorts for matches tothe search criteria provided by the customer/user. The matchedinformation is returned in real time to the customer for validation. Ifacceptable by the customer, the customer confirms the reservation andthe system charges the customer. However, a driver, company ordispatcher may choose not to take a passenger based on the (bid) fee,distance to be traveled, desired route, or other parameters. In such asituation, other drivers would be seeked out via the system, andcontacted in a like manner.

Such process may also be incorporated as part of other reservationsystems to allow, for example, an airline passenger to make his bookingand transportation reservation on the airline's web site without havingto separately go somewhere else to make his hotel or car reservations.

The system then matches such request and notifies all involved parties(cab driver and the customer) and blocks the time slot from being bookedby any other dispatcher or third parties. In one embodiment, the systemmay also track an airline (where, for example, the user is being pickedup from an airport) by accessing the flight database or sendingconfirmation SMS or e-mail messages to the customer and drivers toreschedule the meeting time or place. The system tracks the car anddriver (i.e., cab) via GPS technology or triangulation of a wirelessdevice to confirm that the vehicle is on its way to the meeting point.The system provides notification regarding the final car and driverdetails via SMS, email or phone call and arranges for a meeting placebased on internally generated data or information provided by one of theparties. According to one embodiment, the system connects the twoparties if they cannot find each other.

Upon completion of the transaction, the system collects customersatisfaction information using SMS, e-mail or IVR and updates its datarecords. Payment may be made ahead of time or transferred by the systemto the driver or the cab company upon completion of the ride and theidentification of the rider by providing his credit card or other id.All related transaction information is transferred to the involvedparties which may include direct insertion of expense data to expensereports for corporate users.

According to one embodiment, the system dynamically re-ranks andsynchronizes data from each trip regarding the trip time, satisfactioninformation and pricing information available to other users who try todo reservations.

It should be noted that although the system has been described withrespect to the process for arranging automated pickup and transportationof passengers, it can easily be extended to the delivery of goods andthe consolidation of available space and utilization of freight in thetrucking industry.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the database 200 for thecentral controller 130. The database may comprise a car informationdatabase 210 and a user/customer information database 220, and adatabase comprising information from other networks 230. The carinformation database 210 may store information on the location ofvehicle, type of vehicle, availability of vehicle, typical cost of atravel, customer rating, and/or the like. The user/customer informationdatabase 220 may store information on the location of a user, desireddestinations, desired times of pickup at locations, desired time ofdrop-off at destination, payment offers, number of riders, customerratings, and/or the like. The other network database 230 may storeinformation on airline availability, arrival and departure times,approaching weather (snow, rain, storms, etc), train or ship arrival anddeparture times, hotel room availability information, and trafficinformation. All of this information would be updated frequently sincemost of this information is constantly changing. The weather informationmay be used, for example, to predict the chance of an airline, ship ortrain delay, the probability of traffic due to weather conditions, andmay be used to suggest an alternate route. For example, should there bean approaching winter storm where one would otherwise choose an inlandroute, but have an option to take an alternate and acceptable route,near to the coast (such that the temperatures might be warmer), andweather conditions more tolerable, a recommendation may be made by thesystem based on weather information, to take the alternate coastalroute. A contrasting example where the opposite may be done would be asituation where there is an approaching hurricane or the like. In such acase it would most likely be best to travel farther inland, than near tothe coast.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the localitywhere the server resides. In an embodiment of the present invention, thecar information database may contain data related to several cities.Accordingly, the system is operative to provide transportation servicein remote locations.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow in the central controller 130. Atstep 310, the central controller 130 receives, stores data from cars.Once a car's information has been recorded in the central controller130, it continually monitors the car. At step 320, the centralcontroller 130 receives a travel request from a customer.

At step 330, the central controller 130 sorts user data by request thenecessary parameters, such as cost, timing, car size and type for thecar sought, and/or the lice. At step 340, the central controller 130display the sorted data to the user. At step 350, the central controller130 receives the user selection, which is based on the sorted data thatwas displayed to the user/customer.

At step 360, the central controller 130 communicates user data to thedriver. At step 365, the central controller 130 receives confirmationfrom the cab driver regarding the cab ride that is to be offered. Atstep 370, the central controller 130 communicates the confirmationinformation to the customer.

At step 380, the customer completes their cab ride.

At step 385, the customer rates the ride quality by providinginformation regarding cost, quality, timeliness and/or the like. At step390, the user rating is entered into the system for use by all futurecustomers.

In summary, the present invention is directed to a method, system andapparatus for providing travel reservations. The travel reservationsystem receives travel information from a taxi customer, and validatestravel information received. Next, the system accesses its centralstorage to search for available transportation in accordance with thereceived travel information and transmits availability informationregarding available transportation to the taxi customer. The customertransmits confirmation regarding the available transportation, and thesystem transmits reservation information to a taxi driver in conformancewith the confirmation received from the taxi customer.

It is to be understood that the term “taxi” has been used herein and inthe following claims in the broadest sense possible. The systemmentioned herein is particularly useful for taxis and livery cars, butmuch of the invention may be applied beneficially to rental cars andrental car companies, as well as truck drivers, and trucking companies.Thus, when the term “taxi” is used, it is meant to incorporate all ofthese possibilities. For example, a trailer truck driver may bedispatched via the system, and sent to an airport, seaport or rail yardto pick up a container which is to be delivered to a predeterminedlocation. Also, for example, a customer may be flying into an airportand may desire to rent a car. The car may be scheduled to be there viathe system. Once the customer is in the car, other features of thesystem, such as weather alerts, travel route and traffic data, and otherfeatures may be used. As can be seen, there are many possiblecombinations of uses of the features of this system.

Although the invention has been described in detail in the foregoingembodiments, it is to be understood that the descriptions have beenprovided for purposes of illustration only and that other variationsboth in form and detail can be made thereupon by those skilled in theart without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, whichis defined solely by the appended claims.

1. A method of receiving assistance with transportation reservations,comprising: a. accessing a transportation reservation system via anInternet-enabled device, said transportation reservation system being incommunication with a plurality of independent travel service providers;b. transmitting a travel service request to said transportationreservation system; c. receiving transportation service information fromsaid transportation reservation system in response to said travelservice request; d. transmitting a travel request confirmation to saidtransportation reservation system; and e. receiving transportationservice in accordance with the confirmation.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising transmitting payment information to saidtransportation reservation system.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising transmitting identification information to saidtransportation reservation system, wherein said identificationinformation may identify a user as a repeat customer or a first-timecustomer.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said travel service requestcomprises at least one of: location information regarding desiredtransportation, time of desired transportation, flexibility regardingthe time of desired transportation, number of stops between trip originand trip destination, preference regarding sharing of ride and paymentmethod.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said travel service requestfurther comprises information regarding taxi driver preference.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein said information regarding taxi driverpreference includes at least one of taxi driver's native language, ataxi driver's proficiency in English, type of taxi cab desired and anydesired special features.
 7. A method of providing travel reservations,comprising: a. receiving travel information from a taxi customer; b.validating travel information received from said taxi customer; c.accessing a central storage device to search for availabletransportation among a plurality of independent travel service providersin accordance with the received travel information; d. transmittingavailability information regarding available transportation to said taxicustomer; e. receiving confirmation from said taxi customer regardingsaid available transportation; and f. transmitting reservationinformation to a first taxi driver in conformance with the confirmationreceived from said taxi customer.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising tracking said first taxi driver to ensure said first taxidriver meets said taxi customer at pre-approved arrival time.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising calculating the travel time fromorigination point to destination point of the travel.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein said travel time is calculated based on the distancebetween the origination point and the destination point and legallyallowed speed for the travel.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein aplurality of taxis are provided with devices having Global PositioningSystem (GPS) facilities, such that said devices transmit trafficinformation to a central server and allow real time navigation.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the traffic information includes trafficconditions along a route being taken by one of said plurality of taxis.13-15. (canceled)
 16. The method of claim 8, further comprising chargingsaid taxi customer for the travel.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising tracking said taxi driver upon receiving confirmation fromsaid taxi customer to confirm that said taxi driver is on route to meetsaid taxi customer at the scheduled time.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising receiving customer feedback regarding said travelwith said first taxi driver and updating its feedback data.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising transferring payment to saidfirst taxi driver for the travel. 20-21. (canceled)
 22. A method ofproviding transportation services by a reservation service provider,comprising: a. receiving notification from a plurality of independenttaxi drivers regarding availability for providing transportation; b.receiving a reservation request from a taxi customer; c. transmittingsaid reservation request to a first taxi driver; d. receivingconfirmation from said first taxi driver regarding providing taxiservices to said taxi customer in conformance with said reservationrequest; and e. transmitting said confirmation from said first taxidriver to said taxi customer.
 23. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising receiving user feedback regarding said taxi services fromsaid taxi customer after said taxi customer has utilized said taxiservices.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein said feedback isincorporated into a rating system for use by future taxi customers,wherein said rating system provides rating on a plurality of taxidrivers capable of providing transportation services.
 25. The method ofclaim 24, wherein said plurality of taxi drivers comprises said firsttaxi driver. 26-94. (canceled)